Diving correctly

lit-lorn-strait

Dear Geist,
Which is correct: “He dove into the water,” or “He dived into the water”? I am finding some differences of opinion.
—Vivian, Brampton ON
Dear Vivian,
The Oxford Guide to Canadian English Usage and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary give the nod to both. The dictionary prefers dived but not feverishly. Garner’s Modern American Usage also prefers dived, and adds this tag: “dove for dived as a past tense: Stage 4,” meaning dove is widely used but still “opposed on cogent grounds by a few linguistic stalwarts.” The edition we have dates from 2009, and dove has been in use for two centuries, so perhaps by now dove has reached Stage 5: “universally accepted (not counting pseudo-snoot eccentrics).”
—The Editors